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Each week we take a look at some of the latest fintech news to hit the industry. This week, Zopa Bank hits profitability and one-third of UK shoppers plan to use crypto as a form of payment in 2022.
Poor payment experiences cause luxury brand consumers to shop elsewhere
Sixty-two per cent of luxury brand consumers will shop elsewhere if retailers provide a poor payment experience, according to a new report published by Vyne. Frustrations with card payments, such as slow authentication checks and concerns around fraud, have left luxury retailers seeing a dramatic increase in basket abandonment. In an average week, 19 per cent of individuals from higher-income households abandoned their basket at an e-commerce checkout.
Security is a major concern affecting luxury brand shoppers and 74 per cent of respondents from higher-income households stated that they would use an option that enables them to authenticate themselves using their banking app, rather than using traditional card payments, if this was available to them.
Karl MacGregor, CEO and co-founder of Vyne, says: “If luxury retailers want to build a loyal customer base and reduce checkout abandonment, it is imperative that they implement solutions fit for the modern consumer.”
19 per cent of millennial billionaires are likely to be women
Moneytransfers.com has been comparing the billionaire trends across different generations, with its findings showing that women make up 19.1 per cent of millennial billionaires, which is the highest percentage of women billionaires of any generation. This number is quite an improvement from the immediately preceding generation, Generation X, which has only 11.9 per cent of its billionaires as women.
Technology accounts for 31 per cent of the millennial billionaires, while finance and investment billionaires sum up about 12.9 per cent of the wealthiest individuals. The millennial generation also has the second-highest average net worth of £5.12billion, with 66.4 per cent of the billionaires in this age group being self-made.
Lebara UK partners with Rewire
Rewire, the first digital financial services platform for migrant workers worldwide, has signed a partnership agreement with value SIM provider Lebara. The collaboration will give Rewire access to Lebara’s UK customer base, the opportunity to fast-track its growth in the UK and the option to push further into the EU.
It also opens the door in the future to a range of other services provided by Rewire that aim to promote financial inclusion for migrants. As well as money transfers, the financial services platform offers debit cards, IBAN, insurance and the ability to make cross-border bill payments.
Ben Dowd, Lebara Group CCO, says: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Rewire. It’s a great opportunity to provide our customers with valuable financial services. Today’s customers are increasingly looking to manage their finances through their phone and by working with Rewire, we can continue to add value and great choice for our customers.”
Zopa Bank hits profitability
Zopa Bank has announced it has become profitable, 21 months after achieving its UK banking licence in June 2020, making it one of the fastest digital banks to achieve profitability ever.
Its initial profit is expected to be below £1million for the month of March, and the bank expects to remain profitable from this point onwards, continuing its accelerated growth.
Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa bank said: “The past year has been a highly successful one for Zopa as we’ve exceeded our targets across new and existing products and raised $300million led by Softbank to fuel our accelerated growth.
“Hitting profitability in just 21 months is a testament to our unique model that meets customer needs by focusing on how they borrow and save – the two things with the most impact on finances. Today’s news makes Zopa one of the fastest digital banks to achieve profitability ever and reinforces our thesis on the importance of sustainable growth as a catalyst for accelerated product and market expansion.”
One-third of UK shoppers plan to use crypto as a form of payment in 2022
A Checkout.com report found that one in three (30 per cent) of UK consumers intend to use crypto as a form of payment in 2022, increasing to two in five (40 per cent) when looking at respondents globally. Almost a third (28 per cent) of UK consumers believe that crypto should be seen as a notable form of currency, rather than just an investment asset, as nearly half (45 per cent) say they trust brands who accept crypto payments.
“We believe this is the largest consumer survey of its kind, and the findings present a clear evolution of attitude toward cryptocurrencies around the world. This is a legitimate transition from the early adoption phase to one that’s more practical, pragmatic and positive overall,” said Jess Houlgrave, head of strategy for crypto at Checkout.com.
“This transition means there’s a groundswell in demand for fintech companies that can provide easy-to-deploy solutions and services to get merchants up and running with crypto payment options—and then help them optimise the process over time. We expect that trend to only get stronger over the coming year as we bridge more services into Web3.”
Terra Virtua and Kawaii Islands collaborate on cross-chain NFTs
Terra Virtua, the sustainable metaverse and digital collectables platform, today announced its partnership with Kawaii Islands, the anime-inspired NFT play-to-earn game with over 10,000 daily players. The strategic partnership will provide users with a seamless experience using the Terra Virtua ecosystem while trading Kawaii Islands’ NFTs.
Building on the exciting release of Kawaii Islands’ Android and iOS mobile versions earlier this year, Kawaii Islands will now be listed on Terra Virtua, enabling a better development process of key features such as trading of in-game assets including special NFTs, and promoting the Kawaiiverse to a broader and more dynamic community:
Terra Virtua CEO Jawad Ashraf commented, “It’s fantastic to partner with Kawaii Islands and offer its audience further access to unique digital items. Gaming is leading the way when it comes to the metaverse, and games like Kawaii Islands demonstrate what is possible in this exciting space.”
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